Chapter Text
Another quiet day, and Sidon thanked the Goddess for it. Nothing unusual seemed to be happening in Zora’s Domain. That was good; they could all use a bit of boredom after Ruta’s endless rain.
However, fate seemed out to prove the prince wrong.
As he headed back towards home, a flash of purple lying on the dirt path caught his eye. Sidon swam over to the bank to check it out.
It was a swift violet. The stem was broken, but it had only been recently picked – its petals were still vibrant and soft, and it still gave off a sweet scent. Sidon twisted the bloom around in his hands. Had a child dropped it as they played? Or a visitor who wished to make a gift of it to their sweetheart?
Perhaps he would run into them on the path. And it would be nice to feel the sun on his scales. Thus decided, Sidon continued to Zora’s Domain on foot.
He had only walked a short way before he spied another swift violet, lying in some grass. He picked it up.
It was when he saw the third one, this time near the edge of a cliff that bordered Zora River, that Sidon’s curiosity was piqued. He peered down.
There was a grunt, then a happy cry. The Hylian inspected the violet he’d pulled from the cliff face before tucking it into the bag that hung from his belt.
“So it was you. I must say, I’m not surprised,” Sidon called out, chuckling. “Welcome back to Zora’s Domain, Champion of Hyrule.”
Link looked up. He leaned back and waved, hanging precariously by one hand over the water. Sidon’s heart stopped. But he needn’t have worried – Link scrambled up the sheer wall as if it was a gentle slope, pulling himself up beside Sidon with a big smile.
Willing his heartbeat to slow, Sidon held up the three flowers he’d collected. “I believe these are yours.”
Link looked surprised. He checked his bag, turning it over to see the tear at the bottom of it where violets had poked out their heads and stems like odd hair. He sighed. Taking the violets from Sidon, he said, “Thank you.”
“I am always happy to be of assistance to you, Link,” Sidon answered with absolute sincerity.
Without any hesitation, a bag of violets was thrust into his arms. “Good. Carry these.”
“Ah…”
Free of his burden, Link once again disappeared down the cliff. He returned with a few more flowers, which he deposited in Sidon’s arms. “I’ve got them all. Are you going back to Zora’s Domain?”
“Yes,” Sidon told him. “And you?”
Link nodded.
“Then let’s head back together!”
“You won’t dry out?” Link squinted suspiciously at Sidon’s scales, which made him smile.
Unthinkingly, Sidon said, “Of course not! They’re still quite wet, feel for yourself.”
Link, never one to hesitate, pressed his fingers to Sidon’s thigh – the highest part of the Zora that he could comfortably reach. He traced the edges of his scales, then pressed his palm against them, rubbing first downwards and then upwards against the growth. Sidon gasped. Hylian hands were warm, and soft, and he could feel the calluses on Link’s palm from his time spent wielding various weapons and holding reins. Link’s exploratory touch was gentle yet firm; it suited him, a person that possessed great kindness and great strength.
Link murmured something.
Sidon blinked. “I’m sorry, I was a tad distracted. Would you care to repeat that?”
“There’s water trapped in between and underneath. It doesn’t come out unless you move the scales, and it comes out slowly, unless you lift them up.” Link held up his finger to let Sidon see the droplets of water collected in the whorls of his skin. “A bit like this. It seems useful.”
Even the Zora himself hadn’t known that. All he knew was that you itched if you dried, which must be from the scales chafing against one another without any moisture to lubricate them. Sidon admitted his ignorance and added, “You are an endless source of surprises, Link. Talented in every respect!”
The Champion seemed embarrassed, as if he was unused to praise. Sidon found that he wanted to change that – he wanted Link to realise just how wonderful he was, to be comfortable with the fact that he was the greatest living being in Hyrule.
“I just notice things,” Link said. “Let’s go.”
“As you wish,” Sidon replied. “And what are all these flowers for? Not a proposal I hope; you have a good chance of winning over any lady in Hyrule without the aid of gifts.”
“No, Queen Zelda wants to put them into the food we give to the workers repairing the castle and Castle Town,” Link explained. “They’re working slowly because morale is low. They’re scared of the Guardians attacking them.”
“Well, not every person has a hero’s heart.”
Link shrugged. “I don’t know if I’m brave, or if I just… don’t remember enough to be properly afraid.”
“Link! You don’t need memories to feel fear! Those months you were running around Hyrule, freeing the Divine Beasts… every time I saw you, you’d have a new bruise on your hand or a wound on your face.” And there were the times he walked with an almost imperceptible limp, those times when the way he held his shield was a little awkward. And that time when he’d spent the night in the Seabed Inn and hadn’t woken up when called. Sidon remembered standing by Mipha’s statue, hearing the shouting and rushing to Link’s side, fearing the worst, and then Link had opened his eyes groggily Sidon had almost dropped to his knees from the surge of relief that washed over him. “You get hurt, but you keep fighting, knowing that you could be injured, or worse. You bear the pain for the sake of others. That’s what it means to be a true hero.”
“Being careless?”
“Link, you will stop that this moment or I will insist on carrying you all the way to Zora’s Domain, where I will order everyone to give you the hero’s welcome you deserve.” Sidon wagged a finger at him. “That means feasting, and dancing, and singing, and speeches. It could go on for days. Nobody would get anything done and they’ll all be forced to listen to Jiahto tell them stories they already know by heart.”
Link nodded demurely. He would have taken on Calamity Ganon by himself if he had to, but the man had a serious aversion to causing inconvenience to anyone else, which often caused him to run odd errands for everyone that cared to ask. Which brought them back to…
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Sidon said, “why were you collecting swift violets by yourself? We would have gladly sold them to the Queen.”
“We need lots. The Coral Reef doesn’t stock enough.”
Sidon suspected the emptiness of Hyrule Castle’s coffers factored into the equation as well. As happy as the Hylians were to have their princess back, he didn’t think that they would be keen to pay their taxes after a hundred years. Still, he didn’t like the idea of Link risking a drop into the river for a few herbs. “If the Queen wishes it, we can set up a trade agreement for future deliveries.”
Link shook his head. “I just need enough for a week.”
“Unless I’ve greatly underestimated the effect swift violet has on Hylians, I doubt the repairs will be finished in a week.”
“They won’t be.” Link looked over his shoulder. The river twisted its way between tall cliffs, its surface reflecting the golden light of sunset. But Sidon thought that he was looking past them, across many miles to Hyrule Castle, hidden from sight by both distance and solid rock. The smile on the Champion’s face was one that Sidon had seen on his father many times; pride. “Queen Zelda says that if the workers build faster for a week and see what they can accomplish, they’ll feel happy and work faster without help afterwards because they’ll want to well again. ‘People always want to do their best. Sometimes they just need help to know how good they can be.’ That’s what she told me.”
Sidon broke into a smile himself. The flowers he carried suddenly seemed weightier. “Hyrule is truly fortunate to have such a wise ruler. Her reign will be long and peaceful.”
When they arrived in Zora’s Domain, Rivan and his daughter were guarding the main entrance. The black Zora bowed smartly. “Your highness. Champion.”
Sidon nodded to Rivan and Dunma while Link waved at them. The Hylian took the bag out of Sidon’s hands and rushed forward to the square. Sidon quickened his pace and followed him.
To find the ground in front of Mipha’s statue littered with swift violets. Closer inspection suggested that they had once been in several piles, but wind and overenthusiastic hands had caused the heaps to become more horizontal until they formed an uneven carpet of purple. The reason for that could be traced to the help that Link had recruited.
“You did great! I can almost tell which ones are smallest,” Link told them, apparently with absolute sincerity.
“Those ones!” answered Laruta, Tumbo and Kodah, all pointing in different directions.
“Great!” Link said, still beaming. “Did you make the bundles?”
Laruta presented him with flowers that had been tied together so haphazardly that the stems and heads stuck out in a vaguely spherical formation. Tumbo’s bundles were a lot neater – and a lot sparser, containing less no more than four and sometimes only two flowers. As for Kodah’s efforts…
“We told her you wanted them in bunches, but she went and did her own thing instead and she spent all day,” Laruta said accusingly. Tumbo nodded vigorously, presumably so that he could confirm his part in trying to avert this terrible disaster.
Kodah pouted. “Linny taught me to make these, a hundred years ago. Look, Linny, I remembered!”
The Zora held a circle of flowers in her hands. The stems had been woven together so that only the blooms showed, making a wreath of soft purple petals.
The others were concentrating on the flower crown. Only Sidon saw the flicker of uncertainty cross Link’s face. He doesn’t remember.
“You’ve improved,” Link said.
“I know! It doesn’t fall apart even when I move it. And now that you’ve come back, I can do this.” With all the ceremony of Kapson blessing Zora royalty, she solemnly placed the flowers on top of Link’s head. Admiring her work, she said, “I never thought I’d be able to return the favour. A hundred years… I’m glad you came back, Linny. Do you feel pretty?”
“Very pretty,” Link answered. The children heartily agreed. Link turned to Sidon, a questioning look in his eyes.
The violets brought out the blue in his eyes. They were such a striking shade; rich and bright and breathtaking. The flowers contrasted nicely with his golden hair and Sidon thought that even the softest petals would be as rough as sand compared to those silky strands.
“Beautiful,” Sidon whispered. Link’s eyes widened and he blushed, his cheeks colouring with a rosy pink glow as he looked away. And yet he smiled. It wasn’t the wide, confident smile that he’d often give others, the reassuring smile that let you know that all would be right in the world. No, this was a more private thing, a more personal thing. A small, delicate smile of genuine pleasure, one that made his eyes sparkle with joy and caused him to dip his head slightly as if to hide it and there was nothing Sidon wanted to do more than gently tilt his head up towards him because he was beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful.
“Yay! Prince Sidon likes it too!” Laruta cheered.
“I want Linny to teach me how to make them…” Tumbo said.
Kodah stamped her foot. “Hey! I can teach you too! I live right here…”
“‘Linny’?” muttered Link.
It was at that moment that Captain Bazz signalled to the prince; Sidon hoped that he hadn’t worried anyone by taking longer than usual to return. Reluctantly leaving Link and the others, he went back to his duties as the last rays of sunlight withdrew behind the mountains.